


Each Day Brings

by penscritch



Series: Wizardess Heart collection [1]
Category: Shall We Date?: Wizardess Heart+
Genre: F/M, Ministry of Magical Justice, Unhappy Ending fix-it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-20 06:55:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4777757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penscritch/pseuds/penscritch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Johann just wanted his noon patrol to be over. A bite of real food wouldn't go amiss either.</p><p>In which Johann is an officer (read: high-level flunky) in the Ministry of Magical Justice who runs into a woman named Lena Cloudberg, with ties to Commander Goldstein.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Each Day Brings

**Author's Note:**

> THAT UNHAPPY ENDING WAS SO BITTERSWEET. To me, it’s probably the saddest out of all the endings because of how much miscommunication there was between them for so long. This is my attempt to make it happier. Also, I assume in this fic that the Ministry of Magical Justice, as a subdivision of the Ministry of Magic, specializes in both bringing in the baddies and sentencing them. Think of the gunslingers in Steven King’s Dark Tower series – judge, jury, and executioner all in one.
> 
> Also, I believe the writer jambajunkie (who writes excellent stuff) also posted an Unhappy Ending fix-it, but I was still writing mine when she posted. I am of the firm belief that MORE FIX-ITS ARE GOOD, so here you are.

It was known, not entirely openly but known nonetheless that ‘the Emperor’ had a woman in his life. His colleagues chose not to talk about it much because they were _professionals_ and they had work to do. Dark wizards usually had the good sense to stay under the radar, an annoying habit that made the Ministry of Magical Justice a necessary taskforce to track down and capture them before they really started to harm the community at large.

In their downtime, that was a different story. Even the fear of genius commander Klaus Goldstein’s wrath couldn’t stop the speculation or the secret office pot for betting on just which girl was lucky (or unlucky) enough to garner so much of his attention.

Those who liked tragic romances tended to place their money on Lady Elaine, known as one of the beauties of high society and recently married to the eldest brother in the Goldstein family. Perhaps he had sworn to love no other woman if he could not have the one he wanted? While the sentimentality reeked of drama – nothing like the ruthlessly practical Commander Goldstein – many thought it was not entirely out of the Ladilz field. Almost everyone who met the Lady Elaine had paid the tribute of a sigh or two at her altar before moving on to other, more attainable fish in the sea.

However, any meeting witnessed by the watchful eyes of his acquaintances found no sign of any affection other than that which was proper for a brother-in-law to give for his sister-in-law. Less, perhaps, if one factored in the Emperor’s barbed tongue. It was a trademark no amount of courtesy could disguise, and she spent no more time in his company than she had to. The Emperor, of course, liked to keep his own company best and did not seem to mind in the least.

His school days at the Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy had also passed without much incident. There was some talk about a talentless wizardess that he had gotten stuck with for a Buddy, who had then passed just as quickly out of the school again (not a few trainees sympathized with the poor girl; Goldstein’s training regimen was _brutal_ ), but not many people remembered enough to talk about her and she made hardly a ripple in regular life at the Academy. Goldstein’s grades certainly hadn’t suffered for it. He’d made quick progress to the top at his usual pace and graduated with high honors.

In fact, the only truly irrefutable piece of evidence that Goldstein had a woman in his life at all was a puzzling newspaper interview. Everyone who knew something about Goldstein knew that he disliked pointless displays; disliked grandstanding despite naturally possessing a viscerally imperial presence, and made a special effort to grind the glory-seeking out of the starry-eyed new applicants to the Ministry of Magical Justice. Giving a newspaper interview was not like him at all, let alone the cryptic answers he gave. It had read too much like a message he meant to send to someone he cared too much for to let go, a promise to meet again.

Though no consensus could be made on who the woman was, they all agreed on one thing:

May the gods have mercy on the poor girl who’d caught Commander Goldstein’s eye, because _he_ would show none.

 

* * *

 

Johann generally considered himself a fortunate man. He was employed at the Ministry of Magical Justice, that most elite of magical institutions, and on the fast track towards promotion. He possessed tolerably good looks and a decent dating history. His parents and little sister were happily living in the suburbs without any great fanfare.

Today, Johann felt himself in the grips of a particularly foul mood. His stomach grumbled at him unhappily, raking through the stomach lining even as he patrolled the streets. Smelling all the delicious stall food that he couldn’t buy while on duty soured him even further as he recollected how his lunch disappeared. Thargin, that old moocher, had snuck off with his lunchbox. Not that Johann could protest much, had he wanted to. His best friend was skinny as a rail despite everything he put away; a side effect of heavy magic usage for some, he’d been told. Somehow burning magic to the dregs did that, took everything the body could spare.

“Come on, Johann my friend,” he belched, patting his nonexistent belly with a grin, “You owe me this much for sticking under the Commander’s lessons.”

And indeed Johann did. Hell, everyone in the Ministry owed those brave souls who volunteered themselves up to Commander Goldstein’s quarterly “extra training.” They’d come to appreciate the results – improved magical discipline and knowledge as well as a less sadistic ‘Emperor’ to deal with on a day-to-day basis – but it took decades off a man’s life. It was generally agreed that no one should take more than two sessions before swearing off them altogether. Thargin was certifiably crazy and had taken three, going on four. Though quite sensibly, even he’d cushioned a year or two between each one.

But giving way to his friend meant torturing his stomach, since today – possibly on some sadistic whim of his, Johann wouldn’t put that past Commander Goldstein – he’d been told to take a reconnaissance of street conditions at midday.

He glared dirtily at the clean cobbled stone beneath his well-oiled boots. What was the Commander thinking, ordering a reconnaissance when there was nothing to look at but the usual bunch of street-goers loitering around buying, selling, and occasionally picking pockets? Oh right. The Commander had a sadistic streak.

Grumpily, Johann slapped his boots doggedly onward despite the protests of his stomach. He’d get this assignment done, bear up under the Commander’s consideration, then noogie Thargin a good one when he got back to headquarters. Thank goodness the sun was beginning to dip down into late noon, indicating that it was about time to get back. He brushed his way through the crowd, but then --

 _Oh gods._ What was that delicious smell? Better yet, where was it coming from?

Sniffing in the air, he rewound the path he took in his head and thought about what trajectory the person carrying the food might have taken. His eyes focused on a girl in a blue-flowered sundress and brown hair plaited into two long braids that looked soft to touch. She had a small leather knapsack on her back and a wicker basket in the crook of her arm, covered by the kind of cloth that he saw the bakers’ girls lay on the fresh wares they delivered.

Johann strode purposefully towards her. It wasn’t rude to ask for a bite, was it? He’d even pay her for one. His stomach yanked at his conscience viciously.

Just then, he saw her trip on the turned-up edge of a cobblestone. “Ack!” she cried. Johann reflexively grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

“Are you all right, Miss?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m fine! Thanks for helping me,” she said gratefully, patting at the basket she carried somewhat worriedly. As she poked at lumps settled beneath the cloth covering, Johann observed the girl’s open, heart-shaped face with its pleasant features and her large eyes. The hue of her irises reminded Jonah of a white rabbit his sister used to keep, a gentle red.

The brown-haired girl – woman really, now that he had a closer look and could see the age of her eyes rather than that of her face -- smiled brightly, dipping into a surprisingly graceful bow considering the tumble she nearly took moments before. “Thank you so much! My name is Lena Cloudberg. It’s nice to meet you!”

“A pleasure to meet you too, Miss Cloudberg,” he replied, bowing politely.

She smiled. “Just Lena is fine.”

A second whiff of those baked goods confirmed that Johann wasn’t going to go away until he’d managed to wheedle some out of her – through cash or reward, he wasn’t picky about which as his stomach reminded him.

“Which way are you headed? Perhaps I can carry that basket for you, since you seem to be having some trouble?” he asked, trying the indirect method.

“Oh no, that’s very nice of you,” she said, dashing his hopes. “But perhaps you can give me some directions? I’m going to the Ministry of Magical Justice.”

Johann stared. He was wearing his Ministry uniform. How could she not tell?

“Then let me accompany you,” he said gallantly. “I work there, in fact.”

“That would be very helpful,” she said, looking relieved before her interest perked upon (finally) registering his clothes. “Is that the uniform?”

“Yes, Miss Lena,” Johann replied, heading off towards headquarters. She walked next to him, her basket on her arm and still (dammit) trailing that wonderful aroma of sweet vanilla.

“Wow!” Lena looked admiringly at the blue and gold and black. “They changed the colors, didn’t they? I remember it used to be just black when I visited the capital last time.”

So she wasn’t a complete simpleton, after all. Just hopelessly outdated. Johann turned a corner and emerged into the central plaza.

The fountain in the center rose on swelling curves that rounded outwards like a spray of water, leading up to the stone figure of the nymph posed with a jar on her head. Cascades of clear water sparkled in the sunlight as it flowed out of the intricately carved jar to collect in the artificial pool below. Lining the buildings and erected anywhere there was space were tented stalls and carts as merchants shouted their wares and the townsfolk bartered and chatted about the latest news, though there were fewer now than before with the rush hour past.

Lena was staring at everything with evident interest, her eyes wide with a kind of happy awe. Judging from her reaction towards his uniform, Johann judged that she probably came from the country where such a scene would be rare if not nonexistent.

As she paused briefly before the fountain, her face upturned to gaze at the statue of the nymph in the fountain, something about her honest pleasure and the turn of light and water had Johann restraining himself from staring at her like an idiot. While Lena was no beauty, pretty as she was, something about her was inexplicably charming. It was more devastating than simple beauty and Johann, who had taken the opportunity afforded him as a dashing member of the Ministry and flirted his way through scores of dates and girlfriends in between work found himself thinking about ways to make her smile and perhaps to see her again.

He mentally slapped himself. Get ahold of yourself, man! You’re in it for the baked goods, he reminded himself firmly.

Johann cleared his throat.

“Oh!” Lena turned quickly back towards him, a little flushed with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to see it a little closer.”

Marshalling all the manly imperviousness he’d acquired through his numerous attempts at dating, Johann said, “It’s no problem, Miss Lena, but we’d best get going all the same. It isn’t safe to stay in one place for long. There are cutpurses in the city.”

Nodding once in understanding, she stepped lightly back to him and he continued to lead her through the streets until the tall, imposing façade of the Ministry of Magical Justice came in sight. It had been built in the ancient style, marbled columns with flourishes set on either end supporting the triangular frieze set at the top. He led her to the steps before he said, “Here it is, Miss Lena. The Ministry of Magical Justice. May I ask if what business you have here?”

She smiled brightly and said, “I’ve come to see Klaus!”

Johann stared. Surely she didn’t mean…

A little uncertain at Johann’s nonplussed gaze, she added, “Um. I mean Commander Goldstein.”

She did.

Gods above, Johann thought resignedly, somehow feeling disappointed. Lena had looked so nice too. Another one of Goldstein’s groupies. Well, at least he could let the Commander cut her down to size himself. Maybe he’d even be easier on the rest of them at the Ministry for a while, enough to last till the next extra training session. His stomach rumbled unhappily, reminding him of the food he _still_ hadn’t gotten.

“All right,” he said, leading her up the stairs into the main lobby. Office flunkies and minor officers had already started to trickle in with the lunch break ended, leaving the area in a state of organized chaos.

“Well,” he said, eying the space around them. “This is as far as I can take you. You can’t get any farther in without authorization, but I think you can talk with one of the receptionists to schedule a meeting. No guarantees on whether you’ll get it, though.”

“Oh, thanks,” she said, apparently unperturbed. “Can you tell me if Kla—I mean Commander Goldstein comes by here any time?”

Looking up at the wrought iron hands of the antique clock on the wall, the centerpiece of a large archway into the sanctum of the building, he told her, “Actually, he should coming by right about now. You’re in luck.”

As if someone had made a signal, the bustling crowd at the checkpoint divided neatly to let Goldstein pass through. He was leaving the office early today, as he always did on Fridays.

“Klaus!” Lena cried.

Goldstein’s head turned so quickly that Johann half-thought he’d meant to head this way all the while. His eyes widened as he said, “ _Bunnyhead?_ ”

Johann’s jaw dropped.

“Don’t call me that!” Lena complained, somehow managing to smile tremulously while looking put-out. There was so much joy in her expression that it was almost painful, her eyes wet though no tears had been shed.

Everyone in the lobby had fallen dead silent, astonished at seeing the Emperor actually _acknowledge a woman_.

Utterly uncaring about the amount of eyes and gaping mouths left in his wake, Goldstein walked quickly forward and grabbed Lena’s hand.

“Come with me,” he said. Lena followed him willingly, still with that mixture of joy and pain. As he turned to walk back through the checkpoint, deeper into the building, he caught sight of Johann and said almost as an afterthought, “You too.”

Dumbfounded, the checkpoint security officers let them through without a word. Johann followed.

 

* * *

 

“I thought I told you to wait for me!” Goldstein said. Once inside the thick walls of his office, he’d faced Lena immediately.

Johann had followed them both bemusedly, not sure what to do but willing to follow orders because he had no idea what to do. Whatever he suspected would happen next, what looked like a lover’s spat wasn’t one of them. There were things about his superior’s private life he _didn’t_ want to know, even though the conversation taking place so far was too confusing to be mentally scarring.

“I did!” she insisted vehemently. “I waited and waited, but then I got those dreams again. Remember Azusa?”

He fell into a deep frown as he grabbed her shoulders. “What?! Is there any trouble?”

“Not for me, no,” she said, anxiety filling up her face. “It’s for you, and that case I think you’re on. The one with that dark wizard?”

His expression told just how silly her words were. “I work in the Ministry of Magical Justice,” he said slowly, enunciating each word pointedly as though to say ‘you utter moron.’ “Almost all the cases we handle are on dark wizards.”

She flushed bright red, before saying something Johann considered suicidal. “Don’t be mean, Klaus!” He stared, amazed, as the Commander didn’t do anything except look at her with a raised eyebrow. “Anyway, I’m talking about the one with the dark wizard that’s obsessed with snakes!”

“Snakes…” Goldstein’s gaze sharpened, flint-thin and cutting with realization. “Do you mean Lord Moultmort?”

“I’m not sure about his name, but he’s the one who keeps trying to talk to them and, well, controls their minds.”

That… sounded scarily accurate. How did this woman know all this? That information was supposed to be the most restricted in the entire Ministry! Then again, Johann thought, it was possible that Goldstein had… told her. It certainly made more sense at the moment than that Lena had somehow obtained what she knew by magical means. They weren’t living in a fairy tale or one of those legends with prophecies and such.

“Then that’s the one,” he said. “What about him?”

Shuddering, Lena said, “Klaus… I… He hurts you. Really badly.” Lena hugged her arms to herself, gaze turned inwards on some private horror she couldn’t bear to say entirely.

“What else?” he probed.

She turned her eyes on him, blinking back in vain tears that had already begun to trail down her cheeks. “You were hurt really badly,” she repeated. “I think you might have been… dying.”

Goldstein stayed silent, disbelief warring on his face with a certainty that suggested he believed what Lena was saying however preposterous it sounded.

“It’s all a trap,” she continued, staring at the ground. “It happens during this raid on his hideout, but he’s set up some kind of magic circle over the entire area. You walked into it with everyone and he started to… drain your magic and energy, along with everyone else’s. You fight him and break the circle in time to keep everyone else from dying, but one of his magic snakes bit you and you didn’t have time to cure yourself during the fight, so…”

“I die,” Goldstein finished.

“Maybe not,” Lena said miserably, twisting her hands together until they were clasped, white-knuckled. “I always wake up before I know for sure.”

Goldstein fell silent, thinking. Then he spoke. “There is a raid tonight, actually. We gathered enough intelligence to guess where he would be hiding away so we planned to capture him – or finish him – at last.”

At his words, Lena looked up in alarm. She grasped his sleeve and pleaded, “Don’t go, Klaus!”

Goldstein looked down at the hands clenching desperately in his coat. Then he sighed, placing a hand over her trembling fingers. “I won’t.”

The relief on Lena’s face was like a sunrise. Goldstein tipped his forehead down to touch hers as they breathed together in a moment of intimacy that had Johann squirming where he stood.

“Is this really a good idea, sir?” he ventured. Goldstein’s glare cut like a sword and he barely restrained his flinch. It was his duty though, and damned if Johann wasn’t going to say anything if his superior was acting like a nut because his woman was!

Goldstein gave him a measuring glance that felt like he’d been weighed by the Scale of Judgment back at the Academy again. “Lena has the ability to use time magic. Sometimes she dreams of possible futures.”

… What?

Turning back to Lena, the Commander said, “I need everything you can tell me about your dreams to conduct a further investigation. I have a feeling this dark wizard we’re tailing might be up to more than we currently know.”

“Yes, of course!” answered Lena, beaming. Johann couldn’t help staring. That pretty, slight woman was a wizardess? And one with the ability to use time magic? He looked at Lena with new eyes, half awed and half pitying. No wonder she’d kept quiet about being a wizardess and isolated herself so far from the city, or that the Commander had kept so quiet about his woman. Time magic was dangerous – those who used it to travel through time outright risked disappearing if they interfered with the established past. The smarter ones never developed their skills further and only became seers, seeing the occasional glimpse of possible futures. Not that it had stopped them from getting targeted either; many perished at the hands of ignorant customers who thought time magic meant being able to see the ‘true’ future and were offended when they found out that it couldn’t be done. It was like trying to find a constellation through a telescope; if the conditions were right and you were lucky, you could glean _possible_ futures that aligned with what you were looking for. It was a magic that gave less than it demanded.

Not that Johann would be spreading around information like that. Lena was a nice girl and that would be cruel. Not to mention that she must have enough on her plate already with Commander Klaus, who would no doubt systematically destroy anyone who did let his mouth loose about such sensitive information.

“Sir,” saluted Johann. Goldstein gave him a single nod in return, indicating that he understood his discretion.

“I’ll need to look over all the files we have on the spellwork Moultmort has left behind,” said the Commander, picking out files from cabinets and books from the shelves. He dumped them all in Lena’s arms and she let out a soft, ‘oof’ as she received them. “I’ll be in the library if you need me, but you should send a message to all the captains that there will be a meeting in two hours.”

“Code red?” asked Johann.

“Yes.” Goldstein watched Lena totter over to the side table and thump the stack down, a brief ‘aha!’ crossing her face as she found an unused tea tray and fetched her wand out of her knapsack. Her hand weaved a complicated pattern in the air, muttering a succession of spells – for the tray to float and follow her, and on the documents to decrease their weight. She moved the much lighter stack onto the silver tray and turned to Goldstein triumphantly. The tray wobbled a little behind her but otherwise stayed steady.

“Not bad,” he acknowledged and Lena squeaked as he ruffled her hair. She fairly glowed with happiness.

More than not bad; that was actually quite an exemplary display of control and creativity in magic – that she knew that such a combination of spells was possible and to utilize it… Johann suddenly saw why Lena might be worthy of Goldstein’s attention. Not to mention that she appeared to have used the shortened forms of the spells.

Goldstein locked the office door as they left, the key clicking the physical lock and place and activating several other magical locks embedded in the wood and the walls, as well as wards that Johann knew encapsulated the Commander’s office. Lena stepped in place at the Commander’s side as though she had always been meant to be there.

The closest captain’s office was that of the Research and Development department (or R&D, as they called it), and Captain Ragspur was the sort of fellow who had a lot of magical notes on hand and didn’t stint to lend them if a fellow was in need. The library was located along the same path, as the library lay nearly right next to the R&D. Following them, Johann could admit to himself that convenience wasn’t the only reason he took the same path as theirs. He wanted to snoop a little more and see just why the infamous ‘Emperor’ wanted Lena of all people, for all her good nature and rare magic.

Goldstein seemed to be entirely unaware of Johann as he kept a respectful but audible distance behind them, eavesdropping.

“You changed your hairstyle,” he said, trailing one of Lena’s braids through his hand. A strange expression crossed his face, almost wistful.

“Not really,” she replied, the beginning of a blush emerging. Her head ducked down briefly before she gathered the courage to look him in the eyes again, but he was still looking at her hair with that strange emotion in his face. “It’s still in two parts. I mean, it’s not that different if you’re still calling me a bunny, right?”

His face cleared as he looked back at her, a smirk quirking up the corners of his mouth. “I suppose so. Why did you change it? I thought I told you I liked it the way it was?”

Evidently there had been a promise of some sort, because Lena flushed guiltily and babbled a string of words he couldn’t quite catch. Evidently Commander Goldstein couldn’t figure it out either, because he barked, “What was that?”

“I said,” Lena covered her face with her hands, her embarrassment palpable, “I wanted to look more mature!”

Goldstein laughed, a deep, rich laugh Johann hadn’t thought the Commander capable of. He almost doubled over, so overcome that he looked like he might topple.

“It’s not funny!” Lena huffed, but the fondness with which she watched Goldstein belied her indignation.

Still chuckling, Goldstein said, “It’s been a while since I’ve laughed this hard. You should consider that a compliment.”

Lena’s lips quirked up into a small smile. “I do! But Klaus, did you really have to laugh at me like that? It wasn’t _that_ funny!”

“Oh, it is. You finally noticed that you looked like an idiot.”

“You--!” Speechless, Lena stared at the grinning devil in front of her. “You take that back!”

Goldstein levelled one of his imperious looks at her. “If I recall, you didn’t even know how to control your magic when I first met you.”

“Grrrr,” she growled, unable to retort to what sounded amazingly like the truth.

Johann wondered if she had also undergone one of the Commander’s “extra training” sessions. He shuddered sympathetically.

Evidently Lena noticed, as she asked him worriedly, “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine!” he insisted hastily, nervously glancing at Goldstein, who narrowed his eyes at him in a way that made Johann convinced that he’d been caught out and would soon find his neck on the chopping block if he didn’t run away right now. “Err, I just remembered a scary story my friend told me,” he said lamely.

“Oh, I love scary stories!” Lena said. Then, a little sheepishly, “I always get really scared though.”

“Well, my friend Thargin always tries to give me nightmares. I swear he saves up all the weirdest ones to tell me just so he can brag that he’s the best storyteller back home.”

“Ah, I see.” Lena nodded knowingly. “Does he have siblings?”

“Three,” he said, surprised. “How’d you guess?”

“Kids like scary stories and they admire anyone who can tell really scary ones,” she said nostalgically. “Back in my village, they used to take turns trying to make me scream. It made them feel really special.”

“I bet they stopped soon,” interjected Goldstein. “You’re so loud. I thought my ears were going to fall off.”

“I was scared!” retorted Lena. The expression on her face and the way she blushed gave Johann the thought that whatever memory Goldstein’s words evoked wasn’t just about the fear.

The smirk that Goldstein sent Lena made her blush even harder. Johann thought that it was now potentially entering mind-scarring territory if he didn’t leave soon. Time to run.

“Sir!” he saluted the Commander. “I’ll get the messages sent now! I hope you and Miss Lena have a good day.”

“R&D, huh,” said Goldstein speculatively. “Go ahead.”

Johann would have walked briskly on by, but Lena exclaimed, “Oh, right!” and fumbled at her basket. “Take this!”

Holding the basket with a no doubt stupid expression on his face if Goldstein’s one of good humor was any indication, Johann asked bemusedly, “For what?”

She looked at him like it was obvious. “For everyone here, of course! It’s my thanks to everyone for supporting Klaus.”

Tired of the conversation, Goldstein grabbed her hand and led her down the hall to the library without a word to Johann except, “Later.”

Johann watched their figures disappearing down the long corridor and could faintly hear Goldstein saying, “That was a pathetic display of flight magic. I’m putting you through extra training.”

Johann could practically see Lena’s terrified expression.

“Awwww…”

But surprisingly, she only followed up with, “Okay, Klaus,” before their conversation trailed entirely beyond Johann’s hearing.

That impression stayed with Johann throughout the day as the Ministry was thrown into upheaval by Commander Goldstein’s direct orders to re-examine the case of the dark wizard Lord Moultmort and the strange woman who scurried around setting his office in order and called him “Klaus.”

“Pssst,” hissed Thargin, nudging him in the conference room as he set down a much reduced basket of sweets. His best mate had no concept of the word quiet, so unfortunately their conversation might have been broadcasted by a foghorn. “Have you heard about that woman in the Commander’s office? I heard you were there. Who is she? What’s she like?”

Johann felt hundreds of eyes turn surreptitiously in his direction. The inter-office bet was about to conclude and one of the largest pots accumulated by the Ministry in history was going to a lucky winner. But that wasn’t on his mind. Johann was still thinking about Lena and the Commander, the way they looked at each other and looked out for each other despite the distance of space and years. It was something he wouldn’t mind coming home to. The Emperor sure knew how to pick them. He scratched the back of his neck, conscious of the stares and told him honestly, “I think she’s a match for the Commander.”

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine that everything’s pretty much sunshine and rainbows for Klaus and Lena after this. It turns out Lord Moultmort (can you tell I punned Voldemort?) set up an ambush, which is avoided with Lena’s information. Klaus sets up a counter-ambush with his strike force and Moultmort ends up destroying himself. 
> 
> Klaus and Lena take an embarrassingly short time to get married. Like, shotgun wedding quick except they do their thing afterwards. Klaus claims it’s because he wants to stake his claim and make sure she doesn’t run away. Lena is just happy to be with Klaus.
> 
> Everyone in the Ministry vacillates between ‘how did Klaus find this treasure of a woman who can put up with him, is nice, and cooks like a goddess?’ and ‘why the heck did she choose the Emperor of all people?’ Well, until Lena reveals she was the Buddy who ran away and put up with thirteen consecutive days of Klaus and his special training and would have stayed for more if it wasn’t because she felt guilty for ‘failing’ Klaus and left. Then they kind of give up with the general conclusion that she is, as Johann says, “a match for the Commander.”
> 
> Klaus does become a professor eventually. He works at the Ministry until Headmaster Randolph decides to retire and give his position to Klaus, and Klaus in turn gets Lena put on staff as a veterinarian/magical creature caretaker. Klaus hands off the Ministry reins to – surprise – Johann. He’s rather even-tempered and therefore a relief to everyone at the Ministry after dealing with Klaus, even if he’s not as brilliantly effective in combat or management. His friend Thargin acts as the magical muscle. At the Academy, people suspect favoritism (after all, Lena failed the Scale of Judgment) until she shows her stuff and well, talks to animals. 
> 
> Lena, like in the happy and normal routes, never does develop her time magic ability further. She’s happy living in the present with the occasional (unavoidable and sometimes helpful) flashes of the future.
> 
> In terms of writing... this oneshot came out a little too choppy for my liking, but I'll accept any views or criticism that you can give me. I wanna improve~


End file.
